Peppermint Patties

Mint chocolate lovers, rejoice! These little treats are a staple winter season snack. But, if you’ve ever seen the ingredient list on the packaged peppermint patties, you’ve probably recognized words like corn syrup, milk fat, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (can you even pronounce that?!) and more not-so-good-for-you stuff.

Who wants that in their tummies? I certainly don’t.

This recipe is easy to make but does take a few hours of waiting (for the center to firm up). So, if you can gather up the patience, I highly suggest making them. They’re a perfect snack to serve in your home, your office, to a friend’s gathering, or for late night meetings with you and your freezer (my personal favorite).

Here's what you need:

Filling:

2 cups cashews (unsalted, unroasted)

1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

1/4 cup agave (or other liquid sweetener)

1/4 cup coconut oil

2-3 tsp peppermint extract (depending on how minty you like it)

Chocolate Coating:

1/2 cup melted cacao butter, room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbsp agave (or other liquid sweetener)

Here's how to make it:

Filling:

To a high-speed blender, blend cashews and almond milk until creamy, giving your blender a rest if/when needed. This may take several minutes depending on your blender.

Add agave, coconut oil and peppermint extract to the mixture and blend again until creamy.

Pour mixture into a square brownie tin (8×8-inch) or something wide enough to allow the mixture to remain somewhat flat and not too thick, as this will be the filling.

Store in freezer for 3-4 hours or until firm enough to cut out circles.

Once firm, use a circular shaping tool to cut out even circles.

Transfer to a piece of parchment paper and back into the freezer.

Chocolate Coating:

To a saucepan, melt the cacao butter on medium heat.

Add cacao powder and agave, and stir until smooth. Set aside to come down to room temperature.

Skewer the round filling with a toothpick and dip each circular filling into the chocolate mixture. You will see that the chocolate hardens almost immediately due to the cold temperature of the filling!

Transfer back to the freezer to keep them cold until you are ready to serve!